Cloning and characterization of a small heat shock protein cDNA clone of Wuchereria bancrofti

A 426 bp cDNA encoding a predicted small heat shock protein (smHSP) was isolated from Wuchereria bancrofti lambda zap L3 cDNA expression library by immunoscreening with microfilaremic sera. The open reading frame of the cDNA clone encodes a predicted protein of 142 amino acids (aa), which had high sequence identity with other nematode smHSPs. The homologous regions conserved in several different nematode species reflect its importance in parasites that require mammalian host as a part of their development. SmHSPs and alpha-crystallin constitute a family of related molecular chaperons that exhibit striking variability in size ranging from 10 to 43 kDa. Here we describe the cloning and characterization of this cDNA clone encoding predicted 15.5 kDa smHSP of W. bancrofti.